Rodrygo scores twice to win Copa del Rey for Real Madrid against Osasuna

Carlo Ancelotti completed the collection at La Cartuja, his Real Madrid side achieving in 16 months what he said many clubs never do in as lifetime. Clubs such as the one his team defeated here, Osasuna fighting to the end, more than making a match of this, but eventually defeated in only the second final in their history.

An accidental appointment, returning to the Santiago Bernabéu thanks to a conversation about something else entirely, the Italian coach added the Copa del Rey to the league, Champions league, Spanish and European Super Cups and Club World Cups won in his second spell.

In the end, two goals in Seville from Rodrygo saw the Copa del Rey head to the Bernabéu, although it was his Brazilian teammate Vinícius Júnior who would define this game, with a demonstration of athleticism and skill that was awe-inspiring at times. When he is like this, there is little you can do. Osasuna tried – oh, they tried – but ultimately he proved unstoppable. Even the employment of two full-backs was not enough. Vinícius Júnior simply beat both, and right from the beginning.

The game was not two minutes old when he carried the ball past Jon Moncayola and Rubén Peña all the way to the byline to pull back for the finish, and that would become a recurring theme. All that planning was in pieces, or so it seemed.

Osasuna’s reaction was actually pretty good, both immediately afterwards and again in the second half. The problem was that Vinícius Júnior was even better.

From the right, Peña delivered three crosses for three headers inside 10 minutes: Thibaut Courtois comfortably saved the first from Ante Budimir, had to stretch to reach the second from Lucas Torró, and then watched the third, also from Torró, go wide. Abde Ezzalzouli